Email Newsletter icon, E-mail Newsletter icon, Email List icon, E-mail List icon Get E-News from The Advocates
 
     
Lesson 11: Emerging Immigration Issues: Focus on Minnesota

“If immigrants weren’t here, businesses would close. Restaurants in the downtown skyways would close. Mall of America would have a hard time operating; factories would reduce to operations or would be forced to close. In the least damaging aspect, businesses would be unable to expand, which is what you want in a growing economy.”

~James Kielkopf, Bank Market Researcher

Goals:

  • To gain an understanding of the impact September 11, 2001 has had on attitudes towards immigrants in the United States
  • To gain an understanding of the impact September 11, 2001 has had on attitudes towards immigrants in Minnesota
  • To learn about challenges facing immigrants since September 11,2001

Objectives:

  • Students will learn about social and legal challenges facing immigrants in the United States since September 11, 2001. 
  • Students will look at recent issues related to refugees and immigrants in Minnesota.
  • Students will learn about bias and explore ways in which they can respond when confronted with hateful and hurtful speech or actions.
  • Students will learn about the controversy surrounding government legislation in the War on Terror and its impact on Arab and Muslim communities.

Materials:
Worksheet 11.1: Minnesota "Immigrant Quotient" (I.Q.) Quiz
Handout 11.1: Post September 11 Background Information
Handout 11.2: 1918 Sedition Act and Palmer Raids
Handout 11.3: Case Study on Bias and Epilogue
Handout 11.4: Case Study on Democratic Citizenship and Epilogue
Handout 11.5: Top Ten Strategies to Confront Bias
Handout 11.6: U.S. Supreme Court Case Study: The Story of Keyse Jama
Handout 8.1: Cycles of Nativism in U.S. History


Dictionaries

Suggested resources: See list at the end of Handout 11.1: "Background Information for Teachers"

Time frame: Six to eight class periods

Age level: High school-adult Vocabulary: citizenship, nativist, bias, stereotype, discrimination

Relevant Subject Areas and Connection to Minnesota High School Standards: Inquiry and Research:

  • Inquiry and Research:  History Through Cultures, World History and Cultures

 

Activity 11.1: History Repeats Itself
Students discuss reasons behind the rise in anti-immigrant sentiment during times of conflict and war.
Activity 11.2: Voicing Opinions, Then and Now
The class reads, discusses, and journals about how past events related to immigration can be similar to current events. 
Activity 11.3: Fast-forward to the Present
Students examine issues related to immigration and make connections with international law.
Activity 11.4: A Deeper Look in Minnesota
Students examine and discuss a specific case related to immigration.
Play Based on 9/11 Report
This play was created from The 9/11 Report by The Advocates for Human Rights. The report aims to illuminate the effects of 9/11 on the day-to-day lives of Minnesotans from a diverse array of refugee, immigrant, and religious minority communities through personal accounts from the five-year period following the 9/11 tragedy.
Post 9/11 Educational Resources
Additional information about 9/11 and its aftermath.